Without proper planning, and occasionally even with it, disputes can arise among family members or other beneficiaries with respect to a decedent's estate.  Litigating these disputes is often very expensive in terms of both money and damaged family relationships.  An alternative to litigation is mediation.  In a mediation, the various parties agree on a mediator (who can also be appointed by the Probate Court if need be) and then present their sides of the relevant issues in a (typically) one day mediation. A very high percentage of these mediations result in all sides reaching a mutually agreeable settlement of their issues, allowing the estate to be settled with no further delay or acrimony.  Our probate lawyers are very experienced in participating in these types of mediations, and also serving as mediator.